A study for "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" - A new journey

Following on from the Renaissance inspired imagery of my recent Historical Research Fellowship with the BIPP, I am staying true to my quest to experiment with other art pieces inspired by different eras in the history of art. I have long been enthralled by the Pre-Raphaelites and their obsession for figurative accuracy when portraying the human figure. It is therefore a perfect marriage in my mind between the capture medium of the camera which is designed to record faithfully and proportionately (as long as one understands the nature of optics and resultant distortion by using the wrong lens!) and fine art, albeit in the medium of digital imaging, manipulation and enhancement.

I chose to use a stanza as inspiration, from the poem, "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" by John Keats written in 1884, a re-working of a 15th century French text. The themes contained in this poem have inspired numerous painters of the Pre-Raphaelite era so I feel in good company. My partner, my subject, my muse is also the perfect 'model' for the genre. An accomplished literary artist in her own right, flaming red hair, wild eyes and passionate to the core. I see the same kind of synergy, sparks and charged relationship shared between Lizzie Siddall and Dante Gabriel Rosetti.

A much brighter colour palette than my other collection, I now have the task of selecting the right Fine Art Inkjet paper for it's presentation (without the frame of course) and I can visualise the use of Permajet's Photo Art Silk 290gsm or FB Gold Silk 315gsm as opposed to the stunning Mercury Canvas used before. A trip to One Vision Imaging will be in order to produce the images of appropriate scale. This is a taste of things to come. Back to my research!